Optical tomography was used to measure the pattern of spray cross-section. The maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) algorithm was used to reconstruct the spray cross-section from the measured transmission rate of the spray. A swirl-type injector was used to form an optically dense spray, and the test was carried out in a high-pressure chamber, to control the pressure condition of the test site. Before the experiment, the reliability of the MLE-based reconstruction algorithm was verified, by comparing it with a conventional filtered back projection reconstruction (FBP) method. The MLE algorithm showed superior reconstruction of the image. In the spray patternation experiment, the results of the optical tomography and optical line patternator, which uses Mie scattering signal information, were compared. While measuring the cross-section of optically dense spray, the intensity of the scattering signal had attenuated to an uncorrectable level, which led to incorrect spray pattern measurement by the optical line patternator. However, reliable results were obtained by optical tomography, under the same condition. Finally, the pattern of the optically dense spray was measured at various chamber pressures, of up to 3 MPa. As the chamber pressure increased, the hollow cone-shaped swirl spray shrank, and the attenuation coefficient value of the inner region increased.

Ramachandran, G., and Lakshminarayanan, A., "Three-dimensional reconstruction from radiographs and electron micrographs: application of convolutions instead of Fourier transforms", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 68, No. 9, 1971, pp. 2236-2240. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.68.9.2236